The Mobile Phone in 2010

Posted September 30th, 2008 by Kathryn in Mobile Industry News

2010 sounds like such a futuristic year but the truth of the matter is that this date is right around the corner. Are the handsets of this future era going to be really different from what they are today? Will the mobile phone industry have changed a lot in just the scant year-and-a-half it takes to reach this milestone year? Or will the wireless phones we see in 2010 be strikingly similar to the ones that are emerging on to the market today? While some people predict that phones will be projecting 3D holograms by 2010, others say that the industry is going to just look like a slightly more grown-up version of what it looks like right now. Regardless of which side of the debate they are on, a lot of people are out there talking about the 2010 cell phone market.

Here is a look at some of the things that people are predicting for 2010 in terms of wireless phones and the industry surrounding them:

3D Holograms on Handsets

One of the more fun predictions that people in the industry are making is that 2010 is going to be the year that three-dimensional holograms are going to come to handsets. That’s because a tech company in India called Infosys has patented technology that makes it possible for … continue reading "The Mobile Phone in 2010"

Metro to launch MMS classifieds service

Posted September 30th, 2008 by Patrick in Mobile Industry News

Metro, the free UK newspaper, is about to launch an innovative MMS classifieds service.

The system will allow users to send classified ads, with images and text, for publication in the newspaper and online. Powered by Mobiya it will allow users to take a photo of an item with their camera phone and input it directly into … continue reading "Metro to launch MMS classifieds service"

UK Consumers Shun iPhone, Opt for HSDPA Camera Phones Instead

Posted September 22nd, 2008 by Patrick in Mobile Industry News

With a new Google phone being unveiled this week and months of hype about the iPhone 3G it’s easy to overlook the phones that are actually the most popular.

The iPhone 3G has yet to even feature in the top 20 selling contract phones which are dominated by the likes of Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Nokia.

The star of this summer has undoubtedly been the Samsung F480 Tocco. With touchscreen, 5MP camera and HSDPA this phone has topped the charts for over 10 weeks and sales show no sign of slowing down.

Second on the list every week over the summer has been the … continue reading "UK Consumers Shun iPhone, Opt for HSDPA Camera Phones Instead"

Sony Ericsson Launching Unlimited Music Downloads

Posted September 9th, 2008 by Patrick in Mobile Industry News

According to a report in the FT Sony Ericsson is planning to announce an unlimited music download service later this month. The service, which would rival the similar offering Comes With Music which was announced by Nokia recently, will be ready for a public launch by Christmas.

Sony Ericsson is apparently in discussions with the large music labels about the service which would be a perfect added value product for it’s popular Walkman phones.Despite producing some of the higher quality music phones Sony Ericsson has seen a decline in market share recently and analysts feel they are now being pushed into the “all you can eat” music service by competitors.

There is no doubt that bundling unlimited music downloads will help sell mobile phones but Sony will have to pursuade networks such as EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG (current partners in the pay as you download PlayNow Arena operated by Sony Ericsson) that unlimited downloads are a viable business model.

Nokia’s planned service includes DRM so if Sony Ericsson can offer unrestricted downloads they would gain an early advantage over their competition.

Comes With Music - Unlimited Music Downloads from Nokia

Posted September 2nd, 2008 by Patrick in Mobile Industry News

Nokia is ready to launch what many analysts believe to be a real competitor to iTunes next month. The service, called Comes With Music, will be released in the UK during October and rolled out in Europe shortly afterwards.

Timed to take advantage of the busy Christmas period the service will be pre-installed on … continue reading "Comes With Music - Unlimited Music Downloads from Nokia"

Mobile Internet Navigation Boom

Posted September 1st, 2008 by Kathryn in Mobile Industry News

There is a term that is beginning to emerge for the Internet which we are starting to regularly access through our mobile phones: the Middle Web. This phrase serves to describe the way that major websites are creating mobile-friendly versions of the Internet so that people accessing their sites through cell phones can do so quicker and more efficiently. The mobile sites are similar to, but not as intensive, as the PC versions of the same webites. As mobile web technology develops, there is some question as to whether the middle web is going to get bigger or to eventually fade away. In the meantime, questions are focused on how the development of the middle web is changing mobile phone use and the marketing we see happening there.

The Mobile Web is Spreading

Mobile phones entering the market today are increasingly designed to allow users to have full access to the Internet. … continue reading "Mobile Internet Navigation Boom"

LiMo Foundation and Open Source Mobile Phones

Posted August 29th, 2008 by Kathryn in Mobile Industry News

The history of mobile phones has traditionally been a history characterised by closed development. In other words, mobile phone handset makers and carriers have offered the features and options that they wanted to make available and consumers have had to pick and choose between the best of what is out there to get a phone that satisfies them. However, we are seeing a movement in the mobile world towards a more open source trend. If this trend takes hold, it will mean that mobile phone consumers can play a more active role in designing their own phones and can therefore have the features that they truly want instead of settling for those that are offered by handset makers. One of the leading organisations in this movement towards mobile phone freedom is the LiMo Foundation.

What Is LiMo Foundation?

LiMo Foundation (short for Linux Mobile Foundation) is a mobile phone alliance or industry consortium which was formed for the purpose of creating an open-source mobile phone platform based on … continue reading "LiMo Foundation and Open Source Mobile Phones"

New data reveals Motorola RAZR V3 most popular phone in the world

Posted July 15th, 2008 by Patrick in Mobile Industry News

New data released in the May 2008 Admob Mobile Metrics report reveals that the Motorola RAZR V3 is still the most popular handset in the world.

The data, which is compiled using log file analysis of the billions of adverts served by Admob worldwide shows that Motorola still has huge dominance in the US with 4 of the top 5 handsets. This figure is reflected worldwide where they occupy 4 of the top 6 places.

The Blackberry 8100 and Nokia N70 are the only handsets to feature in the top 6 places worldwide.

In the UK where we traditionally have more high-end mobile phones we see a much different picture. Sony Ericsson handsets firmly dominate with 7 phones in the top 11 places. The popular K800i is the top device with the high end Nokia N95 in second place.

Nokia has a number of devices on the list and the Three Skypephone and Samsung G600 also make an appearence.This data is highly valuable because it doesn’t just reflect the latest mobile phone sales like other data sources such as Mobile Tracker but real life information about which handsets are actually being used on a daily basis.

85% of People Never Use Text Messages

Posted July 7th, 2008 by Patrick in Mobile Industry News

According to a recent survey in the US the number of people sending text messages from their mobile phones is at an all time low.

The survey, carried out by Ipsos, found that just 15 percent of mobile phone users sent text messages every week while 3 percent used the service monthly or less.

A surprising 82% of people questioned said they never used text messaging.

In India text message use is also undergoing a sharp as the cost of making calls is dropping - it seems that users prefer to call their friends rather than sending a text. The average number of text messages being sent is down 7% meaning the service contributes a much smaller percentage to cell phone companies revenues than previously.

Recently we criticized AT&T and other mobile phone networks for their text message charges being far higher than the equivalent data costs. Based on the findings above it seems like consumers are becoming increasingly fed up with high text message charges when all around them data prices are falling.

Nike PhotoiD Lets You Customise Trainers Via Mobile Phone

Posted June 20th, 2008 by Patrick in Mobile Industry News

Nike has today launched an innovative new technology that allows customers to create a unique pair of trainers based on images taken with a mobile phone.Users can take a photo of a brightly coloured image such as a flower or piece of graffiti and upload the image to Nike by sending an MMS message. The message is then used to customise a pair of Nike’s classic 1985 Dunk high-top basketball sneakers and the design is sent straight back to the users mobile phone.

The technology analyses the dominant colours of the image and uses those to create the trainer designs. Assuming the user likes the design then can either purchase the trainers or use the image as a mobile background.

The service might seem like a marketing gimmick but Nike believes it has found a unique way to connect with young mobile phone users. If the technology could be transferred to lower cost products such as t-shirts then mass adoption might not be such a far fetched idea.

Paolo Tubito, the director of brand connections for Nike Europe, Middle East and Africa said the service was a “watershed moment in mobile campaign activity”.

“Where past use of MMS in mobile marketing campaigns has typically focused on short-term, one-way interactions between brand and consumers, Nike PhotoiD opens a genuine creative dialogue between the brand and its audience”